This invention relates to a connector for connecting a connection object, such as a fluorescent tube, to another connection object, such as a board.
For example, Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Application (JP-U) No. H7-30482 discloses a fluorescent tube apparatus using a compact fluorescent tube as a connection object. The compact fluorescent tube comprises a tubular sealed member having an inner diameter not greater than 10 mm and a pair of lead rods penetrating the sealed member at opposite ends thereof and extending from the inside to the outside of the sealed member. Each of the lead rod has an inner part inside the sealed member and an outer part outside the sealed member. The inner part of the lead rod is designed to be relatively thin and is provided with a pair of electrodes faced to each other. The outer part of the lead rod is designed to be relatively thick and has an outer diameter between 0.5 and 3 mm. The fluorescent tube apparatus has a holder which is elastically contacted with the outer part of the lead rod to hold the compact fluorescent tube and which is electrically connected to the lead rod.
However, since the lead rod penetrating the sealed member supported by the holder in contact therewith, a load applied to the lead rod is directly transmitted to the sealed member, in particular, that part penetrated by the lead rod. This may result in a damage of the sealed member. For example, in an exchanging operation of the compact fluorescent tube, the lead rod may be applied with a large force so that the sealed member is possibly broken. Taking this problem into consideration, at present, not only the compact fluorescent tube is exchanged but also peripheral devices are exchanged together with the compact fluorescent tube.